SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell explained why satellite is the most economical solution to providing high-speed internet to rural users.The Starlink kit can be installed for a fraction of the cost of laying fiber optic cables, said Shotwell. While fiber is suitable for urban areas such as Manhattan, laying fiber cables in rural areas is extremely costly, running anywhere from US$10,000 to $30,000 per mile.“I can bridge that gap with one Starlink kit,” said Shotwell, speaking during a fireside chat at the Mountain Connect conference Tuesday evening in Denver, CO. “Which costs US$500 and $50 to $100 a month for service.”“So what we want to make sure folks understand, is that we can serve cities, but we can’t servie everyone in cities.” “But we can serve everybody in rural US.” .Shotwell at the conference also said SpaceX is working with the US Commerce Department on its “structural elements” as the company may bid for Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) projects — despite Starlink owner Elon Musk’s June 19 comments on social media the program is “an outrageous waste of taxpayer money and is utterly failing to serve people in need.”SpaceX is “very interested in participating” in BEAD, said Shotwell, though she expressed concerns over the possibility the government could try to take control. “I’ve put over $10 billion into Starlink that the government hasn’t paid for. If I participate in BEAD, I don’t want the government to say, ‘I get your network,'" she said.
SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell explained why satellite is the most economical solution to providing high-speed internet to rural users.The Starlink kit can be installed for a fraction of the cost of laying fiber optic cables, said Shotwell. While fiber is suitable for urban areas such as Manhattan, laying fiber cables in rural areas is extremely costly, running anywhere from US$10,000 to $30,000 per mile.“I can bridge that gap with one Starlink kit,” said Shotwell, speaking during a fireside chat at the Mountain Connect conference Tuesday evening in Denver, CO. “Which costs US$500 and $50 to $100 a month for service.”“So what we want to make sure folks understand, is that we can serve cities, but we can’t servie everyone in cities.” “But we can serve everybody in rural US.” .Shotwell at the conference also said SpaceX is working with the US Commerce Department on its “structural elements” as the company may bid for Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) projects — despite Starlink owner Elon Musk’s June 19 comments on social media the program is “an outrageous waste of taxpayer money and is utterly failing to serve people in need.”SpaceX is “very interested in participating” in BEAD, said Shotwell, though she expressed concerns over the possibility the government could try to take control. “I’ve put over $10 billion into Starlink that the government hasn’t paid for. If I participate in BEAD, I don’t want the government to say, ‘I get your network,'" she said.
